Thursday, September 20, 2012

Your brain on meditation

Mindfulness meditation is a growing
form of meditation in Western culture that has been theorized to advance
certain areas of the brain, specifically the relationship between the amygdala
and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is responsible for generating emotions
whereas the pre-frontal cortex is involved in introspection and
decision-making; the prefrontal cortex is known as the inhibitory center. The
amygdala receives the emotional signals and directs them to the prefrontal
cortex where planning and decisions are conducted. The prefrontal cortex is
expert at analyzing and planning, but varies from each individual. The amygdala
from an evolutionary standpoint is older and makes rapid survival judgments,
which has a powerful effect on human emotions as well as behavior. For
instance, the amygdala will trigger a fight or flight response long before the
prefrontal cortex responds i.e. being mugged, falling, etc. Through the practice
of meditation one can advance the amygdala and prefrontal lobes to react more
responsively and with a more advanced ability to plan for varying situations
that may be encountered in daily life.

Perception

The psychology of Perception involves the interaction of our senses and our conscious mind. Perception is involved in every aspect of our lives as we make decisions and judgments based on what we experience. If you study diligently you will leave this course with a broad understanding of sensation and perception. From this general understanding you will be able to further investigate areas of interest by means of literature review and research on specific topics.